Local news

Cycling has grown in popularity amid a social climate that puts a focus on health. The Sunny King Criterium takes cycling to a whole new level and features amateur and professional racers alike. This race, which takes place right in our hometown, kicks off the official USA Cycling Pro Road Tour!

Hundreds of races make their way to Anniston to take part in the premiere race. The Criterium is a lap race which means attendees will see cyclists of all ages and backgrounds flying at speeds up to 35 mph. The Sunny King Pace Car will lead the way!

The course is closed to traffic and stretches about a mile in distance. Sharp turns make for an exciting race as racers exceed the 30 mph mark with relative ease. The Sunny King Criterium will cover the square in downtown Anniston.

Cyclists will lap the course for a set number of minutes and the first to cross the finish line on the last lap prior to time running out is the winner.

This year’s race will be livestreamed through www.annistoncycling.com and a variety of other cycling websites. Brad Sohner will commentate the show while Frankie Andreu will host in a crowd of spectators.

The Noble Street Festival is coming up fast which means it’s time to loosen your waistband and hit the road! The festival features a dozen of the community’s best restaurants as well as plenty of other attractions. Bike races, live music, and regional artists will be a part of the festival so this is certainly something you don’t want to miss.

“Taste on Noble” is a signature attraction of the festival and features delightful dishes from 12 area restaurants. Tickets can be purchased from BB&T tents throughout the festival. Be sure to use what you pay for as they can’t be refunded.

Some of the more well-known restaurants include Bonnie Ray’s Bake Shoppe, in business for 23 years, and Mata’s Greek Pizza, open since 1980. Attendees will enjoy a wide variety of foods, including ribs, cookies, cupcakes, pizza, and much more!

Art will be on display at 930 Noble Street. Regional artists and JSU students will have their artwork for sale. There will even be line demonstrations and a community-involved project as well.

The Scion KidZone will feature a number of fun activities for kids, including a duck pond, rock climbing wall, face painting, and snow cone machine.

We here at Sunny King Honda can’t wait to attend the Noble Street Festival this year!

Do you love to see how everybody decorates their houses for the holiday season? So does the Anniston Museum of Natural History. The museum will be hosting its annual Homes for the Holidays event on December 10th from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., which involves a self-guided tour of homes in the area as outlined by Anniston Museum, so you can see all the ways in which local homes transform themselves into works of art in honor of Christmas.

This year, some of the homes included on the tour include the December traditions of Maggie Reynolds, Maggie Freeman, and Ann Welch’s downtown loft. You can even follow up your tour of these local houses and their light displays by stopping by the Anniston Museum of Natural History itself afterwards for some hot cider and warm cookies, so make yourself right at home with some holiday cheer!

Ave Maria Grotto – Cullman, ALThis miniature city was built by Brother Joseph Zoettl, a monk who joined the St. Bernard Abbey in the late 1800s. He was only 14 years old, poor and deformed when he joined. His official duty was manning the abbey’s pumphouse. To keep himself occupied, he created the models that still stand today.

Sloss Furnaces – Birmingham, ALIt’s a now-defunct, giant pig iron furnace facility that proves to be a strangely beautiful attraction. The two furnaces stand 60 feet tall and 18 feet in diameter. They are connected to all sorts of esoteric pipes and surrounded by many other wondrous and mysterious industrial structures. There really is no place like it. You can even take a guided tour!

Natural Bridge – Natural Bridge, ALAmid the beautiful Natural Bridge Park is the natural bridge where the park gets its name. Made of sandstone and iron ore, the structure is over 200 million years old. If you visit, be sure and check out the Indian head relief carved into a nearby cliff. No one knows who carved it or how long it’s been there.

Be sure and bring your camera. These odd attractions in Alabama are the kind you’ll want to remember!

Sunny King Honda had a great year thanks in part to the locally made Honda Pilot, which was completely redesigned and introduced as a 2016 model.

As discussed in a story on The Anniston Star this week, the 2016 Honda Pilot not only helped our dealership have a great year, but it helped Honda’s sales too. In 2015, Honda sold a record 1.59 million vehicles, and the Pilot saw a 25.1% increase in sales over 2014.

“I have never seen a car with this much demand. 2015 was a very good year for us.” our General Sales Manager Dan Jordan told The Anniston Star.

The 2016 Honda Pilot is manufactured right here in Alabama, at the plant located in Talladega County. With five trim levels and loads of standard features, it’s obvious why the Pilot is such a big hit. New safety features and tons of cargo space make the all-new Honda Pilot the perfect family vehicle.